Worked Example: Night Works in a Signalised Intersection, Hour by Hour

Night intersection works succeed when the planning is done before dark: an approved TGS staged movement by movement, signal arrangements confirmed with the authority that runs them, lighting aimed away from drivers, and a rested crew. On the night, each stage is set up, driven and inspected before work starts, and the intersection reopens only after every movement is checked.

This is an example scenario, laid out hour by hour. It is not a real job, client or incident. It is written for supervisors, project engineers and operations managers planning their first or fiftieth night shift at a signalised intersection. It is not engineering advice: the traffic guidance scheme (TGS) must be prepared by a suitably qualified person, and signal arrangements belong to the road authority. For the planning side, read our guide to roadworks at signalised intersections.

The example job

Example scenario: a civil contractor is replacing a failed drainage pit and patching the asphalt around it in the kerbside through lane of the northern approach to a four-way signalised intersection.

• Road: a busy arterial with two through lanes and a right-turn lane on each approach, posted 60 km/h, pedestrian crossings on all four legs.
• Window: permit allows occupancy from 9 pm to 5 am, with the intersection fully open by 5 am.
• Work: saw-cut, excavate, replace the pit, backfill and patch. Noisy work (saw-cutting, compaction) needs to finish before a set hour under the project's noise conditions.
• Staging: stage 1 closes the northern kerbside lane and the pedestrian crossing on that leg; stage 2 adds a short closure of the adjoining left-turn movement while the patch is laid.
• Crew: a supervisor, three traffic controllers (TC 1 to TC 3), a TMA and operator as the TGS requires, and the civil crew.
• Signals: the TGS assumes the signals run normally, with one pedestrian crossing closed. The contractor has arranged, through the road authority, for its signals staff to be on call.

The afternoon: four checks before leaving the depot

At 3 pm the supervisor confirms four things. Skipping any one of them is how night shifts get cancelled at 9:15 pm.

1. The permit. Correct date, hours and conditions, printed and on the phone.
2. The TGS and staging. Latest version, every stage, and the sign list matches what is loaded on the trucks.
3. The signals. Contact name and number for the signals authority on the night, and what has been agreed about the closed pedestrian crossing.
4. The crew. Everyone has had their rest break since their last shift. The allocator's roster has checked hours against the company's fatigue limits, which are set from its own risk assessment. Our guide to fatigue management for traffic controllers explains why this matters more on night work.

The supervisor also checks the lighting towers are fuelled and working, the TMA has its inspection current, and spare batteries are packed for torches, wands and radios.

Hour by hour: the night at a glance

8:30 pm to 10 pm: pre-start and stage 1 set-up

The pre-start covers the TGS and both stages, positions and escape routes for each controller, the TMA's position, where plant and trucks enter and leave, the closed crossing and the pedestrian route, the radio channel and backup, and how to report signal faults. Everyone signs the SWMS.

Set-up follows the order drivers meet devices: advance signs on the northern approach first, then the lane status signs, then the arrow board and taper, then the TMA in its TGS position, then delineation of the work area. Permanent signs that conflict, such as lane arrows on an overhead sign that the TGS says to address, are handled as the TGS directs. Our guide to covering permanent signs at roadworks explains the risks of mixed messages.

The pedestrian crossing closure goes in next: barriers across the crossing at both kerbs, FOOTPATH or CROSSING CLOSED signs and a direction sign to the nearest open crossing, all lit.

The drive-through. The supervisor drives every movement on the northern approach and the movements that turn into it: through, left and right from each approach. In the example, the drive-through finds that drivers turning right from the eastern approach into the northern leg will see the lane closure late, because the taper is behind them as they turn. The TGS already shows a sign on the eastern approach for this; it was missed in the set-up. TC 1 places it.

The lighting check. A lighting tower aimed at the work area is shining straight into the eyes of southbound drivers. It is re-aimed and lowered until the glare stops, checked by driving the approach again. Our guide to night roadworks lighting and glare covers what to look for.

The first inspection is recorded at 9:45 pm.

10 pm to 12:30 am: the noisy work and the first problems

10:20 pm. Pedestrians at the closed crossing. Two people press the push-button at the closed crossing and, when the pedestrian signal shows green, start to step around the barrier. The signals are still running the pedestrian phase as normal. TC 2 directs them to the open crossing. The supervisor calls the signals contact to ask whether that pedestrian phase can be suppressed for the night. Until the signals authority acts, TC 2 stays posted at the closed crossing. The call, time and outcome go in the diary.

11:05 pm. A driver follows the lane line. A car in the closed kerbside lane, following the existing line marking at speed, brakes late at the taper and merges hard. Nobody is hurt. The supervisor checks the advance signs are standing and visible, finds one turned by a passing truck's wind blast, rights it and ballasts it better. The near miss is recorded with the vehicle description.

11:45 pm. Noise. A resident calls the number on the notification letter to complain about saw-cutting. The supervisor checks that saw-cutting will finish before the hour set in the noise conditions, explains the timing, and records the complaint.

12:30 am: the stage change

Stage changes are a high-risk point because the layout is briefly neither one thing nor the other. The supervisor stops plant movements, briefs the controllers on the radio, and sets up the stage 2 devices in TGS order. The left-turn closure needs its own advance signs on the western approach and a sign at the turn.

After set-up, the supervisor drives each affected movement again. Only then is the civil crew told to resume. The inspection is recorded with the time of the change.

2 am to 4 am: the fatigue window

Between about 2 am and 4 am, crews are at their lowest. Reactions slow, radio calls get missed, and the temptation to cut corners grows as the end comes into sight. The same hours bring tired and sometimes impaired drivers.

The supervisor's plan for this window:

• Rotate controllers between positions, so nobody stands at the same spot for hours.
• Short relief breaks with food and water away from traffic.
• An extra inspection at about 3 am, walking every device.
• A radio check-in from each controller every half hour.
• Watch for drifting from position, sitting on equipment or missed calls, and relieve anyone showing them.

Hours, rest and travel home all matter. Our guide to driving home after night shift covers the trip home, which is a real risk for crews who finish at 5 am.

3:45 am to 5 am: removing stage 2, packing down and reopening

The left-turn closure comes out first, in reverse order. Then the civil crew finishes clean-up and temporary line marking where needed.

Pack-down of stage 1 runs from the work area back towards approaching traffic: work area delineation, TMA, taper, arrow board, lane status signs, advance signs last. The pedestrian crossing reopens once the area is clear and safe. The supervisor confirms with the signals contact that any change made for the night has been reversed and the signals are running normally.

Then the reopening drive-through, every movement from every approach, followed by a walk across each pedestrian crossing.

The intersection is fully open at 4:55 am. The night's record, with pre-start, sign-ons, inspections, the stage change, the near miss, the complaint, the signal call and the reopening, goes into the job file. For current guidance, check Transport for NSW, where TS 05492 replaced the TCAWS manual in June 2026, Austroads for the AGTTM and SafeWork NSW for fatigue and night work.

Next steps

Before your next night intersection job, write the stage change as a script, confirm the signals contact by name, and plan the 2 am to 4 am window as carefully as the set-up. Operators can check rest breaks and hours against their own limits with the free fatigue calculator.